Focus 02: Building Brand Loyalty: Trust

This week in our daily bite sized snippets we explore BUILDING BRAND LOYALTY.

Today’s topic is: TRUST

Brands and retailers who acted compassionately and projected a positive message throughout the pandemic are on a strong footing from which to build recovery. We explore how maintaining this momentum and direction is key to building brand loyalty.

Experiencing new feelings of vulnerability, consumers want to believe that brands will look after them; whether it’s confidence in product, a no-nonsense returns policy or to provide a safe place to shop, consumers will want to trust that brands will do the right thing.

Trust is associated with everyday human to human relationships, however, it is easier to gain trust one-to one than it is for brands and retailers to win the trust of consumers. The key is for trust to be fully embedded within the DNA of the business; The people, product, service, store environments and all other aspects of the organisation. As consumers return to stores trust will become more important than ever, as if it is lost consumers may never return.

As we emerge from lockdown, brands and retailers who have demonstrated the below will have helped to instil trust in consumers:

• Been honourable towards suppliers
• Looked after employees welfare and safety
• Been flexible with sales and returns
• Made required changes to operations without cutting corners
• Where stores are trading provided a clean, safe environment for staff and shoppers.

Some brands and retailers are already well known for having trust inherently within their brand DNA, but as consumers return to stores it is essential to deliver upon this trust and maintain brand loyalty.

Delivering changes required as stores open is costly, and a greater financial challenge when many brands and retailers have been hit hard by the pandemic. But not cutting corners, investing in winning consumer trust and building brand loyalty could be the difference between success and failure.

Actions speak louder than words, and to win consumers trust they need to see brands delivering what they need across all channels, and most importantly right now within physical space.

Every brand and retailer will face different challenges based on the sector, their product offer and physical space, but as stores open there are a number of things that brands and retailers can do now to build trust and confidence amongst their consumers:

• Build trust into your business culture, starting from the top down and visible within every layer of the business, so that it becomes an inherent part of the way you operate.
• Develop a strategy of how to win and maintain trust amongst your consumers ensuring your full business is on board, from teams working in HQ through to staff on the shop floor.
• Monitor on an ongoing basis how your consumers feel about being in your stores and what they need to feel safe and comfortable, so that you can react accordingly.
• Reassure your consumers that you are putting ‘people before profits’ and tell them about the positive actions you are taking.
• Use an appropriate tone of voice for in store communications. Be positive, add brand personality to your message and don’t be afraid to make people smile.
• Provide honest and transparent communications in store. Don’t hide behind a regulation or rule.
• Demonstrate the level of trust you would want to feel as a consumer in store, rather than delivering minimum requirements.

Based on our expertise in interpreting shopper behaviour in store and providing consumer insight that feeds brand strategy, we can support you in defining what trust means to your consumers and how to project this across all channels.

As your consumers find themselves living in a changed world, what can you do now to project your positive brand values, demonstrate your commitment to what’s important to them and earn their loyalty.

Get in touch if you would like to arrange a virtual workshop with our founding Directors Adrian & Jenny to see how can help you work through your opportunities, or download the full document HERE